Collapsible fruit and novelty box



Aug. 25, 1931- c. AUGUSTIN ET AL 2 COLLAPSIBLE 'FRUIT AND NOVELTY BOX Filed July 5, 192a 2 Sheetg-Shet .1 j

Aug. 25, 1931.. c. AUGUSVTIN ET AL. 7 1,820,523

COLLAPSIBLE FRUIT AND NOVELTY BOX Filed July 5, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A 777 Maj/9 Car/"0H BYMe/% T TURN/5Y6 L Patented Aug. 2s, 1931 UNITED s'ra ras PATENTi OFFICE 6 7 cnezams'nuous'rm AND unions 1*. cannon, of ear. LOUIS, masons! I COLLAI'SIBLE FRUIT-AND NOVELTY BOX.

' This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in berry boxes and a novel method of manufacturing the same. I

-Heretofore, berry boxes have been made generally from thin sections of wood folded 'intoproper shape and having the upper edges of their side walls bound and, re1nforced either by means of narrow wooden strips-bent'into rectangular shape and se; 10 cured by metal stitches to both sides of the edges, "or by a single piece of metallic strip of inverted U-shape in cross section placed over the edges of the side walls and crimped in position. This t pe of box is unsatislofactory'as the woo has tendency to split due to theextreme thinness of the ,wallsand to the sudden changes in temperature and.

humidity to which the boxes are subjected. Furthermore, the wood being untreated is '20 easily soiled and absorbs juices fromthe fruit, thereby causing discoloration of the wallsof the box andwletracting from the appearance thereof. In the shipment of this type of boxes, a great deal of shipping '2 space is wasted as the boxes have to be shipped nest-ed and accordingly a great deal of s ace during shipment and storage thereof. Expensive machinery 'is required in the manufacture of such boxes. so The objects of the present invention are to provide a box of the type described which is formed of cardboard or fiber blank or blanks so shapedrthat it can be ship ed or stored in flatposition and can be ormed into a complete box by an inexperienced pereon without requiring extraneous securing means to retain the'box in formed position.

Further objects of the invention are to 40 ro. Idea berry box formed of a singlepiece lank of cardboard orfiber, said blank being foldable' into box-shape having double side walls and in which the inner walls are sup ported by the outer walls'by virtue of the fact that all of the side walls are obliquely dis osed whereby the inner walls are caused to wedged against the outer walls.

Still further objects of the invention are to stamp a single piece blank out of cardboard or fiber material, said blank consist- Application filed July 3, 1928. Serial No. 290,087.

ing of two sections, namely, an outer section comprising a strip transversely divided into side wall panels, each of wh ch is angularly disposed to the adjacent panel, the free edges of the two outer anels being 55 adapted to be secured together by a suitable adhesiveor metal stitches and the inner section consisting of a rectangular bottom and a series of inner] wall panels corresponding in size-andshape to the outer wall panels, '60 one of? saidwallpanels being integrally connected along its outer edge with the correspending edge of one of the outer panels.

Qther objects of the invention are to provide ia' box blank of suitable material adapted to .be folded to form a box having obliquel disposed and downwardl ta ering dou 'le side walls, the bottom 0 the x being formed integral with the inner walls and referably held in spaced relation with the ower supporting edges of the outer walls,.the sidewalls and said bottom being provided with a series of ventilating aperw tures; r Additional objects of theinventionare to provide a blank of suitable .material, said blank being adapted to be shipped in flat disassembledcondition, thereby effecting a great saving in the cost of shi ing and storage, and said blank being flilda'ble into a so box form without the use of machinery or the use of attaching means.

'With these and other ob'ects in view, our N Figure. 4 is a similar view but showing the free edges of the outer wall section secured together. I

Figure 5 ia sectional view showing the "inner section being folded within the outer section. I I Y a Figure 6 is a perspective View of the box provided with a detachable cover.

v Figure 7 is a vertical cross section through same.

Figure 8 is'a blank of a modified form of our box.

Figure 9 is a side elevational view of the modified box. I

Briefly stated, the box preferably consists of a .single piece blank which is so sha ed that whenproperly folded "the box t us formed. is provided with double side walls. The outerwall consists. of four panels arranged side by side with the contiguous edges integrally connected fl The outer edges of the outermost panel s are secured together so as to form an open-ended rectangular box having obliquely disposed side walls. The inner'sections consist of a rectangular bottom and fourside walls connected at their lower edges with the bottom and having their outer faces in surface contact ,with the inner facesof the outer section. Thus the inner section is supported within theouteli section by the wedging action produced bptween the side panels of the two sectionsby the oblique disposition of said panels.

Referring by'numerals to the accompanye ing drawings, 10 indicates the outer side walls, 11 the inner side walls, and 12 the bottom of the box. The outer side walls or panels'lO are each provided with a series of apertures 14 and the inner side walls 'or panels are provided with a series of apertures 15. The apertures in the inner panels are; adapted to register with the apertures 14 in the outer panels when the box is form ed. The bottom 12 is provided. with a series of apertures 16. In this manner a series of.

air or ventilating openings are provided through which theair is admitted to the interior of-the box, thereby maintaining'the fruit in fresh condition. 7

The'box is preferabl formed of a single piece blank 17 compris ng an outer section 18 and an inner section 1941 sh wn in Figure 3. The outersection is in the form of a strip which-{is transversely divided by score lines 20 into a series of panels 21 "which correspond to the outer side walls 11. As the side edges of the outer side walls 11 'are tapered downwardly, the panels 21 are an ularly disposed ,to each other instead of belng disposed in a straight line. The outer edge of one of theend. panels is provided with a forms the bottom wall 12 of the box and of cross arms 26 which are integrally formed alon their inner edges with the edges of mem er 25 as indicated by score lines 27.

The shape and surface area of each member 26 is substantially the same as that of anels 21' with the exception .of depth WhlCh is slightly less in'the case of members 26 in order to space the bottom member 25 a suitable distance upwardly from the lower edges of panels'21 when the box is formed. Thus the completed box is supported by the lower edges of the outer panels only and the bottom of the box instead of resting on a solid surface 'is spaced therefrom and is therefore 'allowed'a certain amount of flexibility which safeguards the lower layers of fruit contained in the box and prevents crushing of said layers. This feature in itself is a vast improvement. over the old style boxes wherein the bottom formed the support for the box and consequently all the weight of the fruit was carried by thelower layer'which generally was rendered unusable. Furthermore,

the spacing of the bottom from the supporting surface enables circulation of air therein and through the perforated bottom, thereby further increasing the usefulness of the box and reducing. the wastage of the fruit.

' The inner section 17 can be formed separate from outer section 18. However, when said sections are formed in'a single piece, the outer edge of one of the panels 26 is integrally connected to the outer or wide edge of one of the panels 21 as indicated b a score line 28.

The ox blanks are shipped and stored in collapsed condition as shown in Figure 4. Whenit is desired to form the box, the pan els 21 are opened into extended or rectangular positions as shown inFigure 5. The

each member 26 is bent along line 27 so as to present members 26 upwardly with res ect to bottom panel 25. Section 17 is t en inserted within section 18, line 28 being' used as a hinge in forcing the inner section within section 18. When section 17 is box can be formed without the use of additional securingmeans or the application of adhesive and the box .can be assembled by an inexperienced person without requiring any machine operations.

Where one of the inner section 17 is bent along line 28 and panels 26 is joined with one of the-panels 21,

this line of connection further supports the inner section in position. In. this case in order to facilitate the positioning of the inner section 17 within outer section 18 a score line 29 is formed in panel 26 so that a sort of double hinge is provided to enable the insertion ,of said section 1'? in position as is clearly shown in Figure 5.-

The box being made of cardboard, the outer faces of walls 10 .can be printed in colors or otherwise suitably decorated so as to enhance the appearance of the box and the material contained therein.

While the box is primarily intended as a fruit box, it may be used tocontain vegetables and may be used as a novelty box or candy box.

When so desired, a cover 29 may be used with the box. lhis cover' is provided with a rear end flap 30, whichis adapted to be inserted between the rear side walls 10 and 11, and a front flap 31 which is adapted to be inserted between the front side walls 10 and 11. Fla 30 may be considerably longer than the ront flap 31 so as to hold the cover in position on the box when the cover occupies open position. In the modified form shown in Figures" 8 and 9, the outer section 18 terminates in complementary side wall-portions 32 and 32 respectively. Portion 32 is provided with spaced-apart slits 34 and portion 32 is provided with an extension 35 having projections 36 which are adapted to be entered into slits 34 and thus hold the outer section 18 in folded position. In this manner it is not necessary to glue the ends of the strip together or to use metallic stitches, thereby eliminating the expense connected with such operations and enabling the manufacturer to ship the blankvin flat position as it comes from the blanking machine, as the user can readily fold the blank into .box form. This particular type of box is particularly adapted for use as a novelty box or candy box. or

A box of 'our improved construction can be cheaply manufactured, can be shipped and stored in collapsed or flat position, thereby effecting a great saving in the storage space and the shipping charges, and can be readily assembled by an inexperienced person without the use of machinery or tools.

While we have shown and described the preferred formsof our box, it is obvious that various changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts forming the box can be made without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. A collapsible box of the class described comprising a single piece blank of cardboard and consisting of an outer wall section and an inner wall section, said outer wall section integrally connected along their adjacent side edges and said inner wall section conbers and a bottom member, said inner wall members being integrally connectedalong their base edges with the adjacent edges of said bottom member, the outer edge of one of said inner wall sections being integrally connected to the upper edge of one of said outer wall sections, said interconnected inner wall section being scored and foldable along a line spaced from the parallel edges thereof-and parallel therewith to enable the insertion of the inner wall section within the formed outer wall section whereby the formed inner wall section is supported with in the outer wall section frictionally and by virtue of the integral connection between said inner and outer wall sections.

2. A. collapsible fruit box ofv he class de scribed formed of a single piece blank and consisting of an outer wall section and an inner wall section each of said sections comprising a plurality of trapezoid wall members, the inner wallmembers being of less height than the outer wall members, the wall members of the outer section being I integrally connected at their side edges and having the outer edges of the outermost wall members connected together to form an open-ended inverted frustum of a pyramid, the wall members of the outer section being integrally connected at their narrow ends to the corresponding sides of a bottom inemher and one of said wall members being integrally connected at its wide end to the top whereby said bottom member is spaced from the lower edges of said outer wall section and said inner wall section is frictionally held in position within said outer well seetion without the use of interlocking'projechaving a plurality of trapezoid wall sections sisting of a plurality of trapezoid wall memtions.

In testimony whereof we hereunto affix our signatures this 28th dayof June, 1928.

CHARLES AUGUSTIN. THOMAS 'P. CARROLL. 

